Posted on 12/18/2016 12:40:38 PM PST by nickcarraway
A bag used to collect lunar samples during the first manned mission to the moon legally belongs to an Illinois woman who bought it for $995 when it was mistakenly sold during a government auction, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge J. Thomas Marten, of the U.S. District Court in Wichita, said he doesn't have the authority to reverse the sale of the bag used during the Apollo 11 moon mission in July 1969, even though it shouldn't have gone up for auction.
The white bag, which has lunar material embedded in its fabric and which the government considers "a rare artifact, if not a national treasure," was mistakenly sold as part of a criminal case against Max Ary, the former director of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, a museum in Hutchinson. Ary was convicted in November 2005 of stealing and selling museum artifacts, including some that were on loan from NASA.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
The US government has similar laws for DMRS (Defense Marketing Reutilization Office) sales. Specifically, if the item is classified or has strategic value. Or if the item is prohibited for sale by DMRO rules, like weapons, munitions, etc.
The government has come back many times to reverse such sales.
Not sure about historical items, though.
If you want an old white bag - Nancy Pelosi is available - cheap!
‘National treasure’ that Fedzilla didn’t have/tag/document nor CARE enough about (IE: in a museum let’s say), until AFTER the sale...
...sounds about right.
That's what the government probably originally paid for it!
If you can’t realize a fair market price for it then they better not expect it as a payout for insurance if it’s lost...
All your everything re belong to us.
NASA has really screwed up preserving the space program early years.
Apollo 11 Moon Rock Bag Sells for $1.8 Million in Controversial Auction
NASA waged an unsuccessful legal battle to retrieve the bag, which contains traces of lunar dust, from a private collection
[photo of bag at link]
There are actually laws covering the sale and recovery of DRMO and other government “surplus”. Usually, they’re invoked over safety (weapons, materials, etc.) or security (crypto, etc.).
There are cases where the government has sold live JATO rockets and other munitions without realizing it, only to discover them for sale on-line. The law allows them to recover the items, which seems practical.
Trying to recover for historical reasons is also valid, but this one slipped by them.
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